HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 120596CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
DECEMBER 5, 1996
The December 5, 1996, Regular Meeting of the City Council of the
City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order at 7:40
p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex located at
10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and
opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL The roll was called by the City Clerk and the following elected
officials were found to be in attendance: Mayor Joseph Russo, Vice
Mayor Lauren Furtado, Councilwoman Linda Monroe and
Councilman David Clark. Councilman Jablin was not in attendance
in observance of Hannukah.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Russo stated that the announcements were as listed on the
agenda and posted on the City's bulletin boards.
PRESENTATIONS Police Chief FitzGerald made a presentation to Officer Carl Woods
for his achievements at the National Police Motorcycle Skills
Championship in Dayton Beach, Florida.
Police Chief FitzGerald made a presentation to Officer Joseph
Sheehan for participation in the Dublin City Marathon sponsored by
the Leukemia Society of America.
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
ITEMS BY MAYOR
AND COUNCIL
Golf Course Equipment City Manager Herakovich stated that the golf course was scheduled
to replace Cushman Truckster vehicle in the 1996/1997 fiscal year
budget. The City Manager stated that the Golf Course would be
piggybacking off a bid from the City of Miami Beach in the amount
of $11,700.
Councilman Clark made a motion, seconded by Vice Mayor
Furtado, to approve the purchase of one Cushman Truckster for the
Golf Course, in the amount of $11,700. The motion was
unanimously carried.
Vice Mayor Furtado In response to Vice Mayor Furtado, Mayor Russo stated that the
Council would consider appointing members to a task force for the
revitalization and refurbishing of the older sections of the City after
the first of the year. Vice Mayor Furtado stated that she would
work with the City Clerk in obtaining names of residents and
business owners that would be interested in serving on this Task
Force.
COMMENTS FROM
THE PUBLIC
Donna Lentz Donna Lentz, 513 Sandtree Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, addressed
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the City Council expressing her concerns with the Palmetto
Plantation project proposed to be built in Palm Beach County
adjacent to the Sandtree Development. Ms. Lentz asked for
Council support in objecting to this proposed project, and was
informed that the City was in the process of expressing that
objection to Palm Beach County and would continue to support
efforts to defeat the project as proposed.
Albert Key Albert Key, 3636 Betty Ann Court, Palm Beach Gardens,
addressed the City Council expressing his concerns with the
Palmetto Plantation project presently under review by Palm Beach
County. In response to Mr. Key, Mayor Russo stated that the
City of Palm Beach Gardens was not in the process of reviewing
possible annexation of the proposed project.
Louis Owens Louis Owens, 810 Sandtree Drive, addressed the City Council and
expressed his concern with the proposed Palmetto Plantation
project.
Tony Anthony Tony Anthony, Holly Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, addressed the
Council stating he had concerns with a letter he received from
Assistant City Manager Greg Dunham. Mayor Russo, Greg
Dunham and Mr. Anthony will meet on Thursday, December 19,
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1996, to discuss his list of concerns regarding the Holly Drive
construction project.
Margie Maguire Margie Maguire, 528 Sandtree Drive, Palm Beach Gardens,
addressed the City Council and expressed her concerns with the
proposed Palmetto Plantation project.
Mayor Russo Mayor Russo announced that the City received 8 bids regarding the
bonds for the Municipal Complex Improvements and that they came
in a 4.95% interest, which was lower than expected.
CONSENT AGENDA Councilwoman Monroe requested that Resolution 173, 1996 and
Resolution 174, 1996, be pulled from the Consent Agenda.
Councilman Clark made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda,
as amended. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Monroe
and unanimously carried.
The following items were approved on the Consent Agenda:
L Approval of Minutes of 11/14/96 City Council Special Regular
Meeting.
1. Approval of Minutes of 11/21/96 City Council Regular Meeting.
Resolution 173, 1996 Councilwoman Monroe noted that Resolution 173, 1996, had been
amended per her discussions with the City Manager, removing a
condition that required the negotiation of certain filing fees between
the City Manager and the developer after a certain amount of
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
square footage was reached. It was determined that this
negotiating process was no longer needed as City Codes were
specific about filing fees.
Councilman Clark made a motion to approve Resolution 173, 1996,
repealing Resolutions 148, 1990, and Resolution 99, 1991, which
approved a partial replat of a portion of PGA National Commerce
Park. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Furtado and
unanimously carried.
Resolution 174, 1996 Councilman Clark made a motion, seconded by Vice Mayor
Furtado, to approve Resolution 174, 1996, approval of a replat of
PGA National Commerce Park Plat No. 2. The motion
unanimously carried.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Resolution 163, 1996 Mayor Russo declared the Public Hearing open, which was duly
advertised on 11/6/96 and postponed from the Regular Meeting of
11/21/96, and held on the intent of Resolution 163, 1996,
consideration of approval for a variance to the requirements of
Section 110.36C of the Palm Beach Gardens Code of Ordinances -
Ground Signs for a variance of 15 feet from the required 50 feet for
side setback requirements to allow a ground sign to be placed 35
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feet from the south property line at Speedway- Starvin Marvin,
2490 PGA Boulevard.
Mr. Chris Muerett of Meurett Signs stated that he will speak to
representatives of Speedway - Starvin Marvin regarding the need to
return to the City with an application for a Planned Unit
Development for any improvements needed on this site since the
City's Codes do not allow them to rebuild the existing sign.
There being no comments from the public, Mayor Russo declared
the Public Hearing closed.
Councilman Clark made a motion to deny Resolution 163, 1996,
seconded by Vice Mayor Furtado. The motion was unanimously
carried.
Resolution 169, 1996 Kim Glas- Castro, Planner, addressed the City Council stating that
the City Council's thoughts from the previous meetings were
incorporated into the vision documents.
Rick Warner of the MacArthur Foundation addressed the City
Council stating that the Foundation's silence on the vision
documents should in no way be misconstrued as their approval of
the vision document. Mr. Warner stated that the Foundation
wished to continue dialogue with City staff regarding the document
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5196
and hoped that the Foundation and the City could work together in
the future on the Visioning process.
Members of the Council expressed their unhappiness with the
Foundation expressing this viewpoint after years of working on the
vision process. Mayor Russo stated that the Foundation had been
included and attended all vision meetings and was disappointed that
they would wait until the day of adoption to express this opinion.
Mayor Russo stated that the City would be happy to continue to
work with the Foundation as both entities were important to the
well being of the City.
Councilman Clark made a motion to approve Resolution 169, 1996,
seconded by Vice Mayor Furtado. The motion was unanimously
carried.
Resolution 170, 1996 Attorney Steve Mathison addressed the City Council stating that he
represented Island National Bank, and requested to amend the
Gardens Plaza PUD to allow a monument sign on the north side of
the site. Attorney Mathison cited traffic problems and stated that
customers were unable to locate the banking facility.
It was the consensus of the City Council that the City's Sign Code
must be adhered to and requested that the petitioner consider
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alternatives and return to the City Council with another plan
monument sign.
Resolution 172, 1996 Mr. Nadir Salour of BallenIsles addressed the City Council
regarding Resolution 172, 1996, consideration of approval of
Ballenisles Parcel 22, Entry Signs and Fountain. Mr. Salour
presented the Council with color renderings and explained that
there were no major differences in the entrance to Parcel 22 than
the other approved entrances throughout the Ballenlsles
community.
Councilman Clark made a motion, seconded by Vice Mayor
Furtado, to approve Resolution 172, 1996. The motion
unanimously carried.
REORDERING OF AGENDA
Councilwoman Monroe made a motion, seconded by Vice Mayor
Furtado to reorder the agenda to hear Items for Discussion.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
Sports Authority Rich Walton, Planning and Zoning Director reviewed plans for the
Sports Authority project, proposed to be located on Northlake
Boulevard, adjacent to Costco. It was determined that the
landscaping, parking and other elements of the proposed plans met
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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
the City Codes. The City Council suggested, and the petitioner
agreed, to change the signage to single colored channeled letters.
The City Council suggested that the petitioner revise plans to
reflect the amendment to the proposed signage and submit those
plans to the Planning and Zoning Department. Once staff has
reviewed the amended signage, the City Council would consider
approval of the project on the Consent Agenda of the 12/19/96
Regular Meeting.
Mission Statement City Manager Herakovich stated that staff has been working on the
Mission Statement and that the Statement was one of the objectives
from 1995/1996 Goals and Objectives List. It was the consensus of
the City Council to change "guarantee a variety of quality services"
to "guarantee high quality services ". It was further agreed that "a
high quality of life" be included in the Mission Statement.
Parcel M -3 City Manager Herakovich stated that Mr. Joel Channing, the
developer of Parcel M -3 in PGA National, requested permission to
erect dry models on this site so that he could build a model to show
potential buyers during the seasonal time period. Mrs. Herakovich
pointed out that the City's Code does not allow dry models, and
required that all property must be platted before any dry models
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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
were permitted. The City Attorney suggested that one way to do
the dry models would be for the petitioner to appear before the
City's Zoning Board of Appeals for approval for a waiver from the
code requirements.
Mrs. Herakovich stated that the reasoning behind not allowing the
dry models before platting was because a plat laid out all
encumbrances on property, including utility lines and easements,
and that was why the Land Development Regulations were changed
to require the plat to be approved first.
Attorney Steve Mathison, representing Channing Corporation,
addressed the Council asking for their approval of a waiver to allow
the dry models. Mrs. Herakovich pointed out that the City
Engineer strongly recommended against allowing any construction
before approval of a plat. The City Engineer had received the plat
from the developer and issued a 3 page memo of concerns and
questions regarding the plat. The petitioner was encouraged to
address the City Engineer's comments prior to appearing before the
Zoning Board of Appeals. City Attorney David Acton confirmed
that there was a waiver procedure specified in the City Code and it
required the petitioner to appear before the Zoning Board of
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CITY MANAGER REPORT
Appeals. Attorney Acton stated that there was nothing to prevent
the Council from making comments at this meeting regarding the
petition and to ask that those comments be conveyed to the Zoning
Board of Appeals. Mayor Russo stated that the City wanted to be
protected dollarwise and any concerns expressed by the City
Engineer should be addressed. Councilwoman Monroe
questioned whether the City was really protected, stating that if this
permission was granted for this petitioner it would have to be
granted for others. Councilwoman Monroe felt that if the City was
really protected then perhaps the Code should be changed for
future requests. Mr. Channing stated that he would like to continue
work up to the point of pouring concrete and asked that the
Building Department be cooperative in sending inspectors to
inspect the work that was being done. The City Council stated that
the Building Department could not conduct inspections without an
approval of a plat and asked that Mr. Channing discuss his options
with the Building Official
Councilwoman Monroe asked that staff research the dry model
issue for Council discussion in the near future.
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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
City Manager Herakovich stated that staff met with Commissioner
Marcus and her staff concerning the permit the City has been given
to clear the Prosperity Farms right -of -way in front of Prosperity
Oaks to mitigate the flooding. Commissioner Marcus still had
concerns regarding the clearing.
City Manager Herakovich stated that the Business Survey was still
being calculated, however, the students found the City's computers
too slow and needed to make changes. The calculations should be
finished after the holidays.
City Manager Herakovich thanked the Mayor and Vice Mayor for
their participation in the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, and
reminded Council members that Friday and Saturday were the dates
for the Annual Holiday Bazaar,
City Manager Herakovich stated that the City Engineer announced
that Lynette Lanning would be leaving the firm in several weeks to
relocate to Michigan and that the firm had sub - contracted with
Maria Columbo to take care of traffic consulting.
City Manager Herakovich thanked the Council for taking the time
to complete her Performance Evaluation and presented calculations
to the Council. Councilman Clark stated that in the next fiscal year
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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
he wanted to discuss pension contributions for the City Manager
and the ability to give the City Manager bonuses for exceptional
accomplishments. Councilman Clark made a motion to approve a
4.5% increase for the City Manager based on her performance
evaluations and to direct the Mayor to sign the Personnel Action
Form, seconded by Vice Mayor Furtado. The motion was
unanimously carried.
ITEMS BY MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
Vice Mayor Furtado Vice Mayor Furtado thanked City Attorney Acton for decisive
advice given when one of the Council asked a direct question. Vice
Mayor Furtado asked that staff give more direction opinions on
issues, feeling that staff were the professionals and the Council
relied on their professional opinions.
Councilwoman Monroe Councilwoman Monroe reported on a recent Code Enforcement
Board meeting, stating that the Board accepted a settlement of
$43,000 from Pulte Homes,
Councilman Clark Councilman Clark asked if the contract between Attorney Tom
Baird and Watterson, Hyland, & Klett had been finalized. Attorney
Acton stated that the Mr. Golis and Mr. Baird met yesterday
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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 12/5/96
Baird met yesterday regarding the assignment of responsibility on
pending cases under a subcontract and a final draft of the
subcontract was in progress.
CITY MANAGER It was determined that there would be a Council meeting on
January 2, 1997.
ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was
adjou d 10:58 p.m.
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APPROVAL
or J seph R. Russo
Vice Mayor Lauren Furtado
Attest:
�eind Kosier, CMC, City Clerk
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Councilwoman Linda Monroe
Cicilman E 'c Jabl'
Councilman David Clark